We bought our house about six years ago just before the Covid boom, and we got an incredible interest rate of around 2.9%. Now, we're trying to decide whether to put money into fixing up our home or if it might be better to sell and use those resources for our next place. The addition we have is definitely not built well and was done without permits; it seems to be degrading, though I think it will hold for now. I'm concerned that this could pose issues if we try to sell it later. I'm wondering if we should just accept our losses and save for a new house instead. We've heard that redoing the addition might cost around $40-50k, and it's a space of roughly 14x25 feet, plus it has a tiny bathroom. What do you think we should do?
2 Answers
I totally get where you're coming from. We had a similar issue after the previous owners turned our garage into a rec room with a small 3/4 bath. When we started updating the bathroom and bumped out a wall, we uncovered some rot that led to a whole floor replacement. We're looking at about $35k already, and we still need another $5-7k to wrap it up. Our place might come off as a fixer-upper if we sell, but since we plan to stay here for at least another 10 years, remodeling felt like the right choice. Costs for remodeling just keep going up, so we figured it’s best to tackle it now instead of waiting.
You might want to consider getting a structural inspection done first before moving forward. It’ll give you a clearer idea of what you’re dealing with. Home modifications can be expensive, and a general contractor will probably say rebuild regardless of your needs. An engineer would provide a more unbiased perspective.
Thanks for the tip! I wasn't sure if I should consult a general contractor or just go straight for an inspection.
Good point! It’s true that once you start fixing one part, it makes other areas look worse. Just assess how much you actually use the rec room. Are the comps in your area strong enough to justify putting that money in?